For decades, rural communities in frontier economies have waited in vain for government-supplied electricity to arrive. But today, new technologies – coupled with cheaper solar panels, better batteries, and mobile payment systems – are changing how power is produced and distributed. With so-called “mini-grids” – smaller, localized power utilities – independent producers can electrify remote communities faster and more cheaply than traditional utilities can. The challenge is convincing politicians, financiers, and vested interests of the value in going decentralized.